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The “Creole Christmas” title of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s holiday tour refers to the group’s hometown of New Orleans, where tuba player Allan Jaffe founded the band in 1961.
Jaffe’s son, bass player and tuba player Ben Jaffe, now leads the crew that’s likely to share renditions of Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here,” Charles Brown’s “Please Come Home for Christmas” and Crescent City signature tunes such as “Tiger Rag” when headlining Carmel’s Palladium on Dec. 9.
If authentic New Orleans jazz isn’t on your holiday wish list, December will bring Christmas-themed shows in multiple genres to central Indiana.
Virtuoso ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro will present his “Holidays in Hawaii” show Dec. 9 at The Toby at Newfields, while long-running hip-hop artist Doug E. Fresh has a Dec. 15 date at the Madam Walker Legacy Center.
Straight No Chaser, the vocal group founded on the campus of Indiana University, remains a hot ticket when temperatures drop. Four Straight No Chaser shows are scheduled at Old National Center in December.
Check out 10 highlights of the holiday concert season, in chronological order:
Dave Koz & Friends
7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Palladium, 1 Carter Green, Carmel
Tickets: $35 to $150
Info: Visit thecenterpresents.org
Saxophone player Koz first hit he road with a jazz-based holiday tour in 1997.
Martina McBride
7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at Murat Theatre in Old National Centre, 502 N. New Jersey St.
Tickets: $59
Info: Visit livenation.com
Country star McBride will head to town with her “Joy of Christmas” tour.
Jake Shimabukuro
8 p.m. Dec. 9 at The Toby at Newfields, 4000 Michigan Road
Tickets: $40
Info: Visit forty5.com
Shimabukuro gained fans worldwide thanks to his ukulele cover of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
8 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Palladium, 1 Carter Green, Carmel
Tickets: $32 to $85
Info: Visit thecenterpresents.org
Preservation Hall opened as a music venue in the French Quarter in 1961.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Palladium, 1 Carter Green, Carmel
Tickets: $23 to $100
Info: Visit thecenterpresents.org
Swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is advertising a “Wild & Swingin’ Holiday Party.”
Doug E. Fresh
7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 at Madam Walker Legacy Center, 617 Indiana Ave.
Tickets: $19.99 to $39.99
Info: Visit ticketmaster.com
In addition to an evening show on Dec. 15, Fresh will present a free afternoon talk on hip-hop’s 50-year history. Register for free tickets to the daytime lecture at eventbrite.com.
JD McPherson
9 p.m. Dec. 16 at Hi-Fi, 1043 Virginia Ave.
Tickets: $25
Info: Visit hifiindy.com
Roots-rock standout McPherson titled his holiday tour “Socks” in honor of a so-so Christmas gift.
Brett Eldredge
8 p.m. Dec. 19 at Murat Theatre in Old National Centre, 502 N. New Jersey St.
Tickets: Verified resale tickets start at $77
Info: Visit livenation.com
Illinois native Eldredge sold out this “Glow Live” tour date, which translates to a happy holiday for ticket brokers.
Straight No Chaser
Dec. 21-23 at Murat Theatre in Old National Centre, 502 N. New Jersey St.
Tickets: $44.50 to $89.50
Info: Visit livenation.com
This a cappella group’s “Sleighin’ It” tour includes four shows across three days in Indianapolis.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
3 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 26 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 125 S. Pennsylvania St.
Tickets: $49.75 to $109.75
Info: Visit gainbridgefieldhouse.com
Hard-rock guitar solos will ring out the day after Christmas thanks to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which made its Gainbridge Fieldhouse debut in 2004.
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